The Vampire's Apprentice

Alain stared at Felix for just a moment before letting out a tired sigh, shaking his head. Still, he offered no argument as Felix led him outside, and he was immediately greeted by a US Army Cavalry convoy filing into the street on horseback. Hundreds of soldiers were posted nearby, armed with a mixture of rifles and shotguns, along with glass bottles filled with some kind of liquid on their hips. Alain only had a moment to take it all in before a voice rang out.

"Smith!"

Immediately, Alain whipped around, and was immediately greeted by Colonel Stone stomping towards him, rage etched across his face. As he stepped over to Alain, Stone grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close, getting right up into his face.

"What the fuck is going on here?" he said with a snarl. "Start talking, now. We got reports of supernatural activity and came rushing as fast as we could, but this is unlike anything we've ever seen before."

"Honestly, Colonel, we're almost as clueless as you are," Alain admitted, unfazed by Stone's aggressive demeanor. Compared to the things he'd faced since meeting Sable, Stone wasn't even in the top ten most nerve-wracking things he'd encountered in the past few hours. He shifted in Stone's grasp. "The short version is this: there's an elder vampire somewhere in town, and he's planning to use the entire damn city in a ritual, meant to do… something. We're not sure what, exactly, but whatever it is, it can't be good if he's planning to use the entire city to fuel it. And that's about the extent of what we know at this point."

"And you've confirmed this?"

Alain nodded. "Turns out the person we thought was behind the whole thing actually isn't. She's a another elder vampire – we've got her locked up in the jailhouse. She was being mind controlled by the other elder vampire. As far as we can tell, she's completely innocent in all this, aside from being used against her will to kick the whole thing off."

"You're certain?"

He nodded again. "As certain as I can be. If she was truly involved, I doubt she'd have let us keep her in the jailhouse the way she is now."

"You're placing a lot of faith in a vampire."

"What can I say? It's worked for me so far."

"Hm." Stone released Alain's shirt collar, then took a step back. He looked around town, his scowl deepening as he stared into the darkened haze, listening to the gunshots from within it. "Whole world's going to shit… there's not going to be anything we can do about keeping the Veil intact after this. In a week, everyone on the planet is going to know about this."

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we've got bigger problems than the Veil," Alain pointed out. "Something tells me that if we can't stop the elder vampire, then the Veil being intact isn't going to matter anymore."

Stone shook his head. "You're right… very well. What do you need from us?"

"What?" Alain asked, taken aback. "You're asking me to-"

"You and your group know this city better than we do at this point," Stone pointed out. "Much as I dislike you working with a vampire and her servant, whatever he is, I can't deny that you all got results at Los Banos. I'd have to be some kind of idiot not to have all of you guide us along during this one."

Alain blinked, unsure of what to say. "...Well, some ammo and weapons would be nice-"

That was all Stone needed to hear. He motioned for Alain to follow after him, and together, the two of them headed for a series of carriages towards the rear of the convoy. Felix followed after them both, stopping a short ways away as Stone threw open the back of one of the carriages, revealing a series of leather cases.

"Generally, the US Army frowns upon the usage of nonstandard equipment," he stated. "But as you've probably gathered, my unit isn't a normal Army unit."

He offered Alain one of the cases, a wicked smirk crossing his face. "Generally, I'm of the belief that a rifle is a better generalist weapon than a shotgun, but I know how much you favor scatterguns. I figure, if you're going to arm yourself with one, then you might as well take the best one."

Alain opened the case, then picked up the weapon inside, his eyes widening in surprise. "A lever action shotgun?"

"Winchester Model 1887," Stone reported. "This one holds five in the tube and one in the chamber. Should pack a bit more of a punch than your old double barrel."

Alain shouldered the weapon and dry fired it a few times, working the level each time. Once he'd done that, he turned to Stone with a grateful nod, only to find the Colonel offering him several bandoleers of shotgun shells. Alain hurriedly accepted two of them, draping them across opposite sides of his chest, then began to load up the gun.

"You ought to be all set," Stone told him. "I've got guns for anyone else who needs them as well, of course. Hell if this goes well, I might even be convinced to 'lose' them in the confusion."

"If this goes well," Alain echoed. "Thanks."

Stone waved him off. "Now then, tell me there won't be any other surprises."

Alain opened his mouth to respond, only for a far-off series of howls to catch his attention. Immediately, he stood up straighter, then turned to Felix.

"Where did Jasper go?"

"No idea," Felix answered. "I thought he was with you?"

Alain's brow furrowed. He looked out into the fog, only to be taken by surprise when Jasper came running through, frantically waving his arms.

"Hold fire, hold fire!" he shouted. "You've got friendlies coming in!"

"Friendlies?" Stone echoed. "Were you expecting reinforcements, Smith?"

"No," Alain answered honestly. "But I have a feeling that I know exactly who this is."

"Should we be concerned?"

"Not if they're on our side, no."

That was as far as Alain got before a series of familiar shapes began to file in from within the mist. All of Stone's men flinched, their grips around their weapons tensing as they watched the wolf-headed people step towards them. Still, the Rougarou showed no hostility towards them aside from a narrowing of the eyes and a faint snarl as they passed by, and the soldiers in turn held their fire.

One of the Rougarou broke off from the others, stepping forwards with Jasper to approach Colonel Stone. The Colonel stared at Tiana with barely-disguised disgust as she approached, one hand falling to rest on the grip of his holstered revolver.

"I wouldn't if I were you," Tiana warned. "You may outnumber us, but the members of my pack are not to be underestimated."

"Spare me, monster," Stone snapped. "I've fought werewolves before. Your kind doesn't scare me."

"Werewolves?" Tiana echoed. She shook her head. "You wound us, Colonel. Especially since we only wish to offer our assistance."

"And why is that?"

"Because we aren't morons, that's why. We sensed something was amiss in New Orleans the moment we saw entire throngs of people sprinting into the swamp for safety. We decided to investigate ourselves; imagine our surprise when we found the haze that had settled over the city and its outskirts."

"Then you know what's going on here?"

"No, but whatever it is, it can't be good for anyone," Tiana replied. "Hence why we wish to offer our assistance."

Stone went to rebuke her, but Alain stopped him by holding up a hand.

"You can trust her," he said.

"You can't be serious," Stone protested. "Look at her-"

"We've worked with her and her people before," Alain insisted. "She's trustworthy."

Stone let out a low growl, though he finally took a hand off his revolver. He turned towards Alain, irritated.

"You'd better be right about this," he growled. "And there had better not be any more surprises."

"Believe me, I understand," Alain said. "And there shouldn't be any more-"

Just then, a series of large darkened shapes appeared overhead, barely visible through the haze; Alain was only able to see them because of the movement their wings made as they flew. He tensed, already knowing what to expect, and therefore it came as no surprise when the Tribunal members appeared just a few meters away. Again, Stone's men tensed, but they held their fire, even as Lawrence began to approach.

Stone gave Alain a look of sheer malice, and it took everything Alain had not to sheepishly grin in response.

"Alain Smith," Lawrence announced. "We meet again, and so soon after our last encounter. You seem to be making a habit out of running afoul of the Tribunal."

"Believe me, if it were up to me, I'd never want to run into you people again for as long as I live," Alain swore to him. "So, why are you here? Actually, let me guess – you're here to try and drag me back to your little hideout for interrogation?"

"Not quite." Lawrence shook his head. "I and the rest of the Tribunal members I have brought with me have come to volunteer our services."

Alain blinked in surprise. Him and Felix both exchanged a confused glance before Alain looked back to Lawrence and cleared his throat.

"Well," he said, "this is unexpected."

XXX

After a hurried explanation to Lawrence about what was going on, they all decided the best thing to do was draft up a plan. The others finally joined Alain, having deemed it safe to leave Thorne by herself in the jail cell, and Heather found her way back to them as well, having apparently heard about Stone passing out weapons, which made her earlier task unnecessary. Together, they all gathered around a table in a nearby inn, with several members of each of their respective groups nearby for security.

"Okay," Stone began, "Smith knows the most about what we're dealing with here. I want him to fill us in. Any objections?"

Tiana and Lawrence both shook their heads. Stone let out a slow exhale. "Alright… Smith, what's the plan?"

Alain blinked, taken aback at having been placed in charge so suddenly. "...You're asking me?"

"Of course, you're the one who's been on the scene the longest."

Lawrence glowered at Colonel Stone. "Sable has been here just as long. Moreover, she would have more experience dealing with creatures beyond the Veil than he would."

Sable rolled her eyes. "Is now the best time for this kind of petty infighting?" she gruffly asked. "We're all on the same side here. If you all have any sense, you'll table this pathetic slapfight for later and focus on what's important instead."

Lawrence and Stone continued to glare at each other for a moment before pulling away. The moment they separated, Alain cleared his throat and stepped forwards.

"Alright…:" he said. "Like I explained to all of you earlier, we're looking for an elder vampire named Owen. I don't know exactly how powerful he is, but given that he was able to brainwash another elder vampire, it's safe to assume that he's very dangerous."

"Elder Owen…?" Lawrence muttered, taken aback. "You're sure?"

"Positive," Sable interjected. "Thorne identified him to us, herself. We don't know why he's doing this or what he plans to accomplish, but that doesn't change that he needs to be stopped."

"I take it that won't be a problem for you?" Stone pointedly asked Lawrence.

Lawrence glared at him, but ultimately shook his head. "Whatever his reason for doing this, that doesn't change the fact that Owen has betrayed not just us, but everyone who lives behind the Veil. And for that, he must be punished."

"Then it's agreed," Stone grunted. "Owen dies."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Sable warned. "We need to find him first. He could be anywhere in the city, which is why I'm suggesting that we put our newfound manpower to good use and fan out to search for him."

"You would split us up?" Tiana asked.

"I would. And I think the best way to do this is to separate into small groups – we'll say two vampires, two Rougarou, and however many human soldiers Stone can spare."

Stone bristled at that. "You would have me send my men along with-"

"Sable's right," Alain argued. "It's the only way we can cover enough ground in time to find him. Now, unless anyone has an objection-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the ground began to violently shake. They all stumbled, only barely managing to remain upright as the earthquake struck. Alain grit his teeth as the city shook all around him, hanging onto the table for dear life.

Then, after just a few seconds, it stopped. For a moment, there was nothing but silence.

And then, the screams started.

Alain froze. Whatever was causing the screaming, it wasn't human – if anything, it sounded exactly the same as the screams that had erupted out of the red light that had surrounded Az earlier. But this time, the screaming was sustained, the ear-piercing noise continuing to resonate all around them whereas whatever Az had done had lasted just a few seconds.

"Outside, everyone!" Sable shouted. "Now!"

Without waiting for further orders, they all stood and sprinted outside. As they burst through the doors, Alain froze once more at what he saw. The earlier darkened mist was now blood red, and through it all, he could see the moon full in the sky, engulfed in red light.

"God…" Stone muttered. "What is this?"

"Does it matter?" Sable hurriedly questioned. "Everyone, fan out and begin searching! We have to split up and find Owen now, before it's too late!"

Without another word, they all split up, hurriedly gathering into their respective groups and heading deeper into the hellscape that was now New Orleans.